Steamboat Springs — Like a note from the doctor's office when a child is late to school, the Routt County Combined Courts provide documentation for jurors to prove to their employers that they really did show up to perform their civic duty. With a new advancement by the state court system, that process now is available online, bypassing the lines and time it would take to get such documentation at the court.

The courts provide a statement, stamped and sealed, for employees to present to employers, but that can take up time and result in people standing in line to get their paperwork. The online service, announced Thursday by the Colorado State Judicial Branch, will be available to employers who have their employee's juror number and name.

The significance of the documentation is that employers are required by state law to pay employees for the first three days they serve on a jury.

Clerk of the Court and Jury Commissioner Tracey Epley said the site is brand new and that they are working through a few kinks. For example, the juror number required to use the online service isn't provided to jurors. To get it, jurors would have to call the court, defeating part of the purpose of having the system online.

As an example Thursday, Epley pulled up the record for County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland, who was called to jury duty Thursday. After questioning by lawyers, Weinland wasn't selected to sit on the jury.

The readout provided from the online certificate service shows that Weinland appeared for one day. Epley said the streamlined process will save time, but its biggest benefit will be in larger cities where courts can call 500 jurors in a day.

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Epley said the paper certificates still will be available, and employers still are welcome to call the court to check on an employee's jury service.